'Twin Peaks' returning 25 years later with 9 episodes on Showtime

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One of TV's most cherished cult series, "Twin Peaks," will be returning to the small screen as a limited, nine-episode series on Showtime in 2016. The show's creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost — who teased its return with "twin tweets" last week, each writing "Dear Twitter Friends: That gum you like is going to come back in style! #damngoodcoffee" — are currently working on scripts. Lynch is planning to direct each episode. The cast has yet to be revealed.

"The mysterious and special world of "Twin Peaks" is pulling us back," Lynch and Frost said in a joint statement. "We’re very excited. May the forest be with you."

Frost confirmed the news with a tweet linking to the video above, which shows the series' deceased prom queen character Laura Palmer pointing at the camera and snapping. The words "25 years later" and "2016" are superimposed around the welcome sign into the town Twin Peaks. The original series ran for two seasons, totaling 30 episodes, between 1990 and 1991 before ABC canceled it.

The new season would be set in the present day and would carry forward the story line, accounting for the quarter century that has passed. It will go into production next year.

"What more can I say — 'Twin Peaks' with David Lynch and Mark Frost on Showtime in 2016!” the channel's president, David Nevins, said in a statement. "To quote Agent Cooper, 'I have no idea where this will lead us, but I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.'"

The original series centered FBI special agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle MacLachlan, attempting to solve the murder of Laura Palmer, as he faced a number of supernatural phenomena. The residents of Twin Peaks were also notable for their strangeness, including characters who carried logs and a shadow universe where one character spoke backwards.

David Lynch.Matt Rourke / Today

Showtime plans to rebroadcast both seasons of the original series in advance of the new season.

"During the last days in the life of Laura Palmer many things happened, which have never been seen before," Lynch said in a statement at the time. "They're here now alongside the new transfer of 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me' and 'Twin Peaks,' the television series."

In an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this year, Angelo Badalamenti — who composed the series' score — said he was initially unsure that the show would work. "It was really off the wall," he said. "I thought it was either going to sink violently down the drain or, hopefully, capture the intrigue of enthusiastic people conversing by the office water cooler on a Monday morning." Ultimately, it became water-cooler fodder before it was canceled, due to what was considered poor ratings at the time.